


City of Giants

by mongoose_bite



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ghosts, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-14 12:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7172699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mongoose_bite/pseuds/mongoose_bite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren decides to take a year to work on his thesis in Shiganshina, the myth-wreathed city of his ancestors in central Europe. The town is charming and slightly spooky, and old beyond what his young American worldview can grasp, but in an age of smartphones and satellites his grandmother's stories seem like little more than fairytales.</p><p>At least until his blood spills on the cobbled streets and he finds himself haunted by otherworldly entities convinced he has something they want.</p><p>His grandmother never mentioned those.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blood is Red

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for eruriren week 2016.

“Seen any giants yet?”

“No, but there are plenty of cats.”

Eren listened to his mother's soft chuckle and stared up into a colourless sky. He was standing in the middle of the cobbled street, his phone against his ear. For some reason he couldn't get a connection inside his house, but he had promised to call once he'd moved into the place, and frankly he wanted to hear her voice again.

He was a long way from bright, sunlit California.

There was no danger of being run over. The steep and twisting streets of Shiganshina's Old Town had never known motorised traffic. Eren doubted they even managed to get horses up some of these cobbled lanes.

Eren had dragged his wheeled suitcase up the same street the evening before, exhausted and more than a little worried he'd managed to get lost. But the key had fitted the lock, and the stone townhouse at his back was his, as long as he continued to pay the rent. In daylight it didn't look much better than it had the evening before. The pale sky reflected off the leadlight window on the second floor like a cracked, milky opal, its walls were a dirty shade of grey, and the tiled roof flecked with bird shit. Presumably all these cats dined well on pigeons.

“It's just like she described it,” Eren said. “It's like nothing's changed in two hundred years, let alone fifty. It's clearly centuries old, but it's been built and rebuilt over and over again. My house is at least a century younger than the one next door.” Eren turned around on the spot, gazing at the buildings around him. Strictly speaking it wasn't relevant to his thesis, but to an architecture student it was fascinating all the same. “I can see why they told stories about giants carrying off children; it would be incredibly easy to get lost here. It's like a maze.”

“She would have been really happy to hear it hasn't changed too much,” Carla said. “She really missed the Old Country.”

“I remember,” Eren said. His maternal grandmother had filled his childhood imaginings with stories and legends of this place; ancient family gossip, superstitions, and outright fairytales. “I miss her.”

“She missed you too, when you went to college. But she'd be very proud of you. What are your plans now?”

“I need to try and get the internet connected, and find somewhere to buy food.”

“I see your priorities are the right way around,” she teased.

“I'm going to drop by the university as well. It's pretty tiny, but I should at least make myself known. I can hear water.” Eren followed the sound beneath an archway formed by two houses joining over the street, and down a flight of stone steps. It smelled damp.

“Are you still there?”

“Yeah, I can hear you, Mom. There's a canal!” Eren peered over the side, seeing his own silhouette reflected in it but not much else. “I wonder where the water comes from. Doesn't smell like it's connected to the sewage.”

“Don't go swimming anyway,” Carla said.

“Not much chance of that. It's cold here, even if it is supposed to be spring.” He sighed. “I should let you go. I'll send you some pictures.”

“All right Eren, love you. Have fun!”

“I love you too.”

Eren put his phone back in his pocket and spent a few more moments staring at the cold waters of the canal. No, he had things to do; he could go exploring later. Even this short jaunt threatened to disorient him, and he retraced his steps back to his own front door.

A large white and ginger cat was sitting in front of it, but when Eren called it fled.

The house was not large, but it was more than adequate for a student living alone, and it was free of mildew and mice. The stairs creaked whenever Eren trod on them, and the décor was best described as 1970's Iron Curtain, but the furniture looked sturdy enough, and while the lino was a bit battered it wasn't a tripping hazard. It was still rather gloomy, however, even though Eren had opened all the curtains and windows to air it out a little.

Nevertheless, he was determined to try and make it a home.

The desire to visit Shiganshina had grown on him gradually. He'd never really thought of himself as anything other than American for most of his childhood, but then his grandmother had died, and he felt like the past was slipping away from him, that he was losing something he didn't even know he had.

His grandparents had joined the mass exodus from Europe after the Second World War, seeking peace and prosperity, and mostly finding it, in America. They'd never mentioned the war itself much, and Eren's impressions of Shiganshina were of a town lost in time. He'd been a bit disappointed when he'd arrived at the train station and found it much the same as any one of the cities he'd passed through on the way, but hidden behind the power-lines and soviet architecture the Old Town remained as it always had. Only the TV aerials and odd satellite on the roofs indicated it was actually the twenty-first century. It was still a medieval walled city, even if the wall had long gone.

Still unused to both the timezone and the bed he was sleeping in, Eren woke up early. He cracked open the leadlight window to see what sort of day it was, and the chill, earthy smell of fog drifted in. Eren shivered in his pyjamas, his feet already cold. When was spring actually going to arrive?

Nevertheless, the sun was shining, even if it was through the fog, and Eren gazed down the slope into a sea of white. The row of houses opposite loomed out of the mist like a dark row of cliffs, and he felt his sense of adventure stir.

Also his desire for coffee.

He closed the window again and quickly got changed, grabbing his camera as well as his hoodie and headphones. Still brushing sleep from his eyes, he made instant coffee in the little kitchen and added too much sugar and not enough milk. He drank it standing up at the sink before he headed out into the fog.

His footsteps were muffled, but still managed to echo oddly anyway, giving the impression that he had an occasional companion, and he decided not to put on his headphones. The thought of being cut off like that made him feel a bit vulnerable, even though there was nothing more dangerous out here than potentially tripping and twisting an ankle.

He tried not to think about giants.

The chill woke him up better than the coffee did, and his breath steamed faintly in front of his mouth. He was confident he had enough mental landmarks to navigate by: the slope was always east west and the bell tower on the church was visible from a few places, and so he set off down streets he'd yet to explore.

He heard the occasional pigeon cooing somewhere above, but the cats were staying out of the damp that left condensation beading on the glass windows and dripping from the jaws of the handful of gargoyles Eren had spotted so far, most squatting awkward and useless next to rusting steel guttering.

Nothing was wasted here, not space or building materials. For centuries, whenever a building was demolished it was cannibalised to make new ones, and Eren took pictures of piebald houses, stone supporting brick and other architectural oddities. Houses were added to, squares were built in, leaving confusing little lanes that took him right back to where he started.

Eren walked, warming up, eventually taking off his hoodie and tying it around his waist as the mist retreated, the pale morning sun beating it back.

When he found his way home again he was starving, and he fried a couple of chops and made toast before remembering he hadn't shaved or showered yet and he was planning on going to the university that day and despite his early start he was in a rush.

The Architecture Department welcomed Eren with open arms, to his mild surprise. They decided it was such a momentous occasion both lecturers and the handful of postgrads took the afternoon off to commemorate it with a long lunch at the pub just down the road from campus, which was probably one of the most profitable enterprises in Shiganshina. Eren wasn't really one for spending hours drinking, but after days of solitary travel it was good to surround himself with people and conversation. He'd been taught some of the local language as a child, and almost everyone else spoke a bit of English, and they got by for the most part.

He explained his thesis and his family history, and tried not to breathe too much. There was no restriction on smoking in the pubs here, apparently, and everyone seemed to be doing it. The atmosphere was sort of clear when they arrived, but as lunch turned into an early evening, the fug grew thick on the ceiling, Eren's eyes were stinging, and he knew he'd have to wash all the clothes he was wearing to get the smell out.

Everyone else was used to it, he supposed. He wasn't going to be rude, but he was definitely never doing this again. If he was going to socialise, he'd start in the evening and not stay as long. People came and went and recognised friends and sent texts to summon more acquaintances and Eren was happy to be introduced. He was clearly the conversation starter for the day, even if he'd given up on trying to memorise names and faces hours and beers ago.

It wasn't all bad; the beer was both cheap and quite good, and the locals accepted his compliments as their due, explaining how bad American beers were, and Eren nodded and smiled.

He realised it was getting dark, although it was relatively early, and the Old Town had very few streetlights. It was time to go and hopefully sober up a bit on the bus back. The other students were incredulous that he'd chosen to live in such an awkward and out of the way location, and they wished him well until next time.

Eren waited impatiently for the bus, glad to be out in fresh air again while he watched the last of the light bleed out of the sky and listened to his music. He wasn't totally confident he'd be able to find his way home in the dark, and he willed it to hurry up.

It arrived on time, which he supposed was the best he was going to get, and he queued to get on as there were plenty of students going home from campus, but most got off in central Shiganshina, and Eren had a seat to himself again.

He didn't think much of the fact that a couple of other guys about his own age got off the bus at the stop at the edge of Old Town. There was a tourist information kiosk there, but at this time of day it was shuttered and silent. Eren stuck his hands in his pockets and hurried past, into the twisting streets beyond.

Two sets of footsteps echoed Eren's own, and when he turned to look the young men were much closer than he'd expected, his headphones having drowned out their approach.

“What do you want?” Eren said, suddenly realising he was a young, affluent American in a dark street in a strange country, and feeling stupid for not considering it earlier. He squinted, trying to get a look at their faces, but the only light was coming from a few windows, and they were smart enough to keep out of it.

“Wallet, phone, headphones, come on, man.” Their English wasn't great but Eren got the idea.

Eren hesitated, adrenaline spiking through his system as he considered his options, if he could turn and run in the dark without breaking an ankle. Or he could just hand his valuables over.

No.

Like hell he was going to agree. If they'd just wanted cash, fine, but his phone was his only link home until he got his internet connected. If they thought he was going to be an easy target, they could think again. He'd got in trouble plenty of times as a child for getting into fights, and he wasn't scared of a bit of rough and tumble.

He squared up. “No. Fuck off,” he said forcefully, hoping they'd just give up when he didn't make it easy.

No luck, they crowded in a bit closer and Eren wasn't going to wait for them to make the first move. He lashed out with his fist, aiming for a midsection, and his gasped as sharp, sticky pain lanced up his arm. He caught the gleam of the blade.

Shit. If he'd known they were armed-

He didn't have time to berate himself further. The other one punched him in the side of the head and Eren staggered, gripping his injured arm, turning to run. They clobbered him again, this time on the back of his head and he went down, putting his other arm up to brace himself as he tumbled onto the cobblestones, too terrified to really register the pain in his shins and knees. He'd landed a square of light cast by a nearby window, and he struggled to get up, his blood dripped and streaked on the cobblestones, bright red and shining, and he thought about severed arteries and his head was ringing and oh fuck how hard had they hit him?

Mom would kill him if he died. Didn't want to. He fumbled, trying to drag out his phone, wallet, anything, as his captors closed in on him.

He heard a grunt of pain and a sharp crack, and something showered down on him. Eren automatically shook his head to dislodge it and nearly passed out. Dirt. Shards of pottery littered the ground around him. A pot plant had fallen on one of his attackers, he thought. Lucky he landed in front of a window.

An icy gale blew down the street, a howling, furious wind with teeth to it that made Eren shiver deeper than his skin.

Swearing, and then a yell of startled pain and a blood-curdling yowl. No one seemed to be paying attention to him now and Eren started moving away, his hand clamped around his wrist, trying to staunch the bleeding.

The wind died for a moment, and then it sent him staggering into the wall again, and he saw a scarred and battered cat that he guessed was the source of the yowling. It fluffed up and hissed and he only caught a glimpse of it before it disappeared into the dark. Nothing was making sense any more, and Eren wondered if he was about to throw up, his thoughts getting log-jammed, piling up on top of each other.

His tormentors were retreating, their footsteps echoing down the street and Eren sank down to the ground, his back to the wall.

He didn't feel alone. Had someone saved him? He probably needed a hospital.

Someone was calling his name, maybe more than one person. He couldn't see anyone.

This was really not a good place to pass out, he told himself as his vision faded to red.

 


	2. A Sunset is Orange

Eren was used to hospitals. He'd spent a childhood in them waiting for his father to finish work so they could go home, and the smell of them was associated with boredom and bribery rather than with fear or stress.

Right now, the only feeling the smell of cleaner and rubber and cheap food induced was relief. Somehow, he'd made it here. His head was throbbing, and someone was talking to him. His hand was throbbing too. Returning to himself was like walking into a familiar house, turning on the lights, and realising he'd been robbed.

His arm ached, his legs ached.

There were two people in the room. One was bending over him, asking him questions, and Eren thought he'd better answer. The other was leaning against the wall, and Eren couldn't get a good look at him. He wondered why they allowed him to be there.

They wanted to scan his head. Okay. The sooner they decided it was all right for him to have painkillers, the better.

The nurse spoke good English with a vaguely British accent Eren couldn't identify. She wanted to know if he had any questions. He had a few but it was all too hard to explain and he settled on one.

“Who's that?” he asked.

She looked over her shoulder. “There's no one there,” she said.

She was right. It must have been a shadow, but the sense of a person had been weirdly strong.

Eren had American money and a surgeon father and although he sensed that Shiganshina's general hospital was creaking and underfunded he was given a private room and nothing to complain about other than the food.

He learned after the fact that he'd managed to rouse the inhabitant of the house he'd collapsed against by knocking on the door, and she'd summoned help. Luckily he was close to the edge of Old Town and hadn't needed to be carried far to the ambulance.

A pair of policemen came to interview him about the attack, and Eren told them what he could, but he hadn't seen much of his attackers. He was too grateful to be alive and mostly in one piece to really worry too much about whether or not they'd be caught.

Carla had cried a little on the phone and called him stupid and had to be talked out of taking the next flight over to look after him.

Eren's arm needed half a dozen stitches, but the wound wasn't dangerously deep, and he had mild concussion and a few bruises. They kept him in hospital for another night for observation, and one thing Eren felt was extremely observed.

He kept looking up expecting to see someone, only for there to be no one there. He thought he heard his name when he wasn't paying attention. These sensations were strongest when he was falling asleep or waking up, and what bothered him most was how little it bothered him.

He worried about brain damage, but in the seconds before reality reasserted itself he was calm; the people he almost saw didn't mean him any harm.

Eren's final test of mental fitness was a large number of forms, written in slightly eccentric English, that concerned the settling of his bill. Medicine was socialised here, but as a non-citizen and someone who appeared to have plenty of money, he wasn't going to benefit from it.

He honestly didn't mind that much. It was still incredibly cheap compared to what his parents' insurance would have paid back home.

Once he was free he treated himself to lunch somewhere other than the hospital cafeteria, drinking proper coffee and looking at his bandaged arm. He'd have to come back in a week for it to be checked; the stitches were supposed to dissolve, but they needed to keep an eye on it to make sure it didn't get infected.

Tired and sore, Eren caught the bus back to the Old Town and walked slowly past the kiosk, now distributing pamphlets and fliers as normal, although there weren't many tourists this early in the year. When he reached the spot the attack had occurred he paused. No sign of the cat, the flowerpot or his blood.

He knocked on the door.

The old woman who opened it recognised him immediately, and ushered him in while Eren thanked her in the local language as best he could. She had very few words of English, but managed to introduce herself as Vera.

Eren hadn't intended to stay for long, but Vera ushered him into a creaky armchair and made him tea after he declined coffee. He wanted to ask her if she'd seen anyone out on the road, but the language barrier was too high. What puzzled Eren was the fact that he clearly remembered passing out, and yet somehow he managed to knock on the door.

“Bam, bam, bam,” Vera said, miming the action as she did her best to give her version of events.

He managed to convey that he was fine, however; he must have been a scary sight when she'd seen him last.

Through a combination of mime and linguistic guesswork Eren explained that he lived nearby. He wanted to offer Vera something as thanks, but didn't know if it would be impolite. She had a couple of cats, who graciously consented to be patted, and as Eren sank into the chair the walk up the slope to his house seemed longer and more arduous.

Nevertheless, he'd learned his lesson about walking at night, and he wanted to take more painkillers, so he bid her farewell and promised he'd visit again soon. Maybe with flowers or cake or something. A replacement for her broken pot, perhaps.

She reminded him a bit of his grandmother, even though she was at least a generation younger. As he remembered more to the language, he'd ask her if she knew the old stories as well, he decided.

The day had been like all the others Eren had experienced in Shiganshina, sort of grey and indecisive, but a change must have blown through while he'd been inside. When he stepped through Vera's front door he found himself standing in full, late afternoon sunlight.

He blinked, dazzled, as Vera joined him on the step, squinting. The remaining clouds were purple and gold, the sky between them pale blue fading to yellow as the sun set.

“Beautiful, beautiful,” Vera said and Eren nodded to show he understood. The light was a warm shade of orange, poured like syrup over the cobbled streets, turning the houses to gingerbread and the windows to toffee. It looked warmer than it felt, and Eren was still glad of his hoodie, but he hadn't realised how much he'd missed the sun until he felt it on his face.

He bid Vera farewell and walked home in the comforting light, his footsteps echoing sometimes in that weird way they did here, although sometimes it sounded like there was an echo beyond the echo, that his companions had multiplied.

The sun at his back, so his shadow stretched on ahead of him, skipping up the sides of houses when the road bent, long and lanky and alone, even though Eren got that feeling, stronger than before, that someone else was here with him.

If he kept his eyes ahead, his focus on the ground in front of him, he could almost hear their breathing, and once or twice he almost ventured a hello. Whenever he actually looked, which he did often, partly to admire the sunset behind him and feel the sun on his face, he appeared to be alone save for the cats that had come out of their hiding places to enjoy the weather.

Eren's house was painted orange in the light, the window on the second floor blazing with reflected sunlight, as bright as if it were on fire, and Eren looked up at it and imagined a beacon to guide him back, and felt happy to be home. The big white and ginger cat was waiting for him and regally ignored him when he said hello, but it didn't run away.

Then it looked up and trotted past him to wind its way in a small circle, tail in the air, neck craning like it was asking to be fed.

There had been a cat the night he was attacked, Eren recalled, and he narrowed his eyes. People did say cats could see things humans couldn't. His grandmother had never mentioned it specifically, but now he wished she was still alive to ask about it.

He unlocked his front door and a gust of air accompanied him inside, and he found himself standing aside for it before closing the door. Fuck, what a weird couple of days.

Painkillers. Clean clothes. Then he'd go the kitchen to see what food he had. The sunset had flooded his bedroom with light, and Eren stood in it as he disrobed, soaking up the illusion of warmth it gave; the house was cold having been left unattended for a couple of days.

He pulled his shirt off gingerly over his head, careful of his injured arm, and he was sure he heard a soft exhale of breath from the doorway. He yanked his head free of the fabric and looked over his shoulder, but, as always, no one there.

There was a more definite sense of no one there when he started on his belt, and he felt like the room was suddenly emptier.

The feeling didn’t last for long. The house seemed fuller than before, inhabited, the stairs creaking and the wood shifting as Eren moved around it it. It was more an atmosphere than anything definite, but the rooms all felt like someone had been in them just a moment before.

It wasn’t just the washing machine, which to Eren’s amazement actually worked, even though it made a lot of mildly distressing noises while doing so. He made a mental note never to have it running when he intended to sleep.

He had some chicken in the fridge, and he cooked it for dinner with rice and vegetables, wanting something substantial after a couple of days of hospital food. He’d expected to have to fumble around in the unfamiliar kitchen, but whatever spice he wanted always seemed to be under his hand whenever he reached for it. It was still awkward to cook mostly with one hand, but the cupboards and drawers seemed to slide closed of their own accord, which he couldn’t remember them doing last time.

Eventually he sat down to eat, pushing is food around one-handed with a fork. It was easier to eat at the table than in front of the TV, and he listened to the washing machine clunking and whining in the bathroom and tried to think rationally. He hadn’t really experienced anything he could point to as genuinely inexplicable, he just felt he had somehow acquired an invisible companion. Or two.

Why had those would-be thieves left so swiftly? Was all it took a cat and a flower pot, or was it the fear that they might have actually killed him, or was it something else? He tried to remember what, if anything, they’d said. They’d seemed startled, and then in pain, and they’d sworn.

And then they'd gone.

He’d felt like he’d been saved, and had heard someone calling his own name.

On the other hand, a head injury and sheer panic would account for an awful lot.

He couldn’t remember when he’d stopped believing his grandmother’s stories. He was sure he had believed them when he was small. His mother said he’d had nightmares, and she’d wanted to assure him that the giants weren’t real, but her own mother had stopped her.

“She’d said it wasn’t her stories that made you cry so,” Carla had said one day when they were discussing them, long after Eren had come to find them more amusing than scary. “She said every child cries when they understand how cruel the world is. I told her that was a bit morbid, but that was just the way she was raised, I suppose. I agonised over it a bit, but your nightmares went away and I assumed she’d reassured you.”

Eren didn’t think she had. His own disillusionment had come gradually, in conversation with other children. Santa Claus had always struck him as unlikely, and eventually he realised giants fell into the same category.

Her stories weren’t helping him now. He didn’t recall any references to helpful or protective spirits. The poor stonecutters and huntsmen in her stories had only their own wits and occasionally a loyal dog or horse to fall back on.

Eren finished eating and put his dish in the sink with the other dirty things. The washing machine had finally ground to a halt, and he transferred his clothes to the dryer, one at a time. It was all a bit much for one day, and Eren took some more painkillers and went upstairs to bed.

He fully expected things to have gone back to normal when he woke the next morning. He slept through the fog, and when he woke up the skies were blue and his arm was sore. He opened the window and let a cool, crisp breeze wash into the room.

Time to put this all behind him, he thought.

He checked to see if his internet had been connected yet (no, but he wasn't surprised) and went downstairs for breakfast.

To his surprise, the white and ginger cat was sitting on the kitchen windowsill, and only blinked at him when he walked up to cautiously open it.

“Hello, puss. Good puss.” A good sign, he thought. Then he accidentally knocked the tin of black tea out of the cupboard while he was reaching for the instant coffee and the noise startled the creature and it fled.

When Eren went to fill the kettle he noticed all the dishes in the sink were clean. He frowned and lifted them out. He was pretty sure he hadn’t washed up, and if he had, why would he have left the dishes like that?

He put the kettle aside and prowled around the house. It was like all the dust had evaporated overnight. He ran his finger along the top of the television, and he got the distinct impression someone was laughing at him. Maybe not quite at him; his presences seemed to have cross-currents, and sometimes he walked into a room and felt he should apologise for interrupting.

Well, he might have forgotten doing the dishes, but he definitely hadn’t done any dusting.

“Show yourself!” Eren said sharply.

He waited.

He waited until it was clear nothing was going to happen, and feeling rather embarrassed he went to make his coffee. He took his mug outside, and sat on the front steps to call his mother as he’d promised.

His father answered first; a rarity. Eren gave him a run-down on his diagnosis and care, and Grisha grudgingly said it sounded like he’d been well looked after.

“Don’t worry about the bill, it's taken care of. Have you started work yet?”

“I haven’t had a chance,” Eren said, trying not to feel defensive. Grisha wasn't actually criticising, he just wasn’t very good at conversation. “I don’t have any internet yet, and I won’t be able to type for a day or two until my arm’s healed a little. Can I talk to Mom?”

Eren told her how he was feeling and managed to cradle the phone with his injured hand so he could drink his coffee.

“Mom, this might sound a little weird,” he said eventually. “But since the attack, I feel like, like someone’s looking after me. Not a real person, but a presence, you know? It might be because I hit my head, of course,” he added.

“There are more things in heaven and earth,” Carla quoted. “Maybe it’s your grandmother,” she said, and such was the smile in her voice, Eren didn’t have the heart to disagree.

Nevertheless, he didn’t think it was likely.

 


	3. An Egg Is Yellow

 

Over the next few days, Eren’s hand improved, his internet was connected, and he bided his time.

Spring decided to arrive in Shiganshina, and the Eren had to get up early to catch the last wisps of fog disappearing into the nooks and crannies of Old Town. Mostly, he didn't bother. Birds twittered on the guttering above, and a pair of swallows started building a nest in the eaves of the house opposite Eren’s. Suddenly, it was everywhere; buds on the leafless trees and small shoots of green in the window boxes and balcony gardens. Dandelions and other weeds started to push out from between the cracks in the cobblestones. With no cars, the air was clearer in the Old Town than elsewhere, and each day Shiganshina proved the sky could be bluer than it was the day before, like peeling back a layer of plastic.

The cats were everywhere, and once Eren had given the white and ginger cat a piece of sausage it no longer ignored him, instead rubbing its head on his shins when he came back from one of his walks. Eren was careful not to feed it too much; its size indicated it was getting more than its fair share of regular meals somewhere as it was.

He got in contact with his supervisor, sheepishly held up his still-bandaged arm in front of the webcam, and gave his mother a virtual tour of the house, as far as the network cable extended, anyway.

He started work on his thesis. There was no rush at this point, and he kept it to a civilised number of hours.

The police talked to him again, and told him he was lucky, and wanted to know if he’d spoken to the consul. Eren suspected they simply wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to raise a fuss and damage their tourist industry.

He bought Vera a replacement pot, with flowers already growing in it, and received more tea, biscuits and mime for his troubles.

And Eren waited, because his guests had most definitely not left. He’d started keeping notes on their behaviour, and they didn’t appear to have noticed. If he was going to be haunted, he was going to do it logically.

For a start, they were extremely respectful of his privacy. If he wanted them to go away he only had to start taking his clothes off and he’d get the definite sense they’d gone. Which was better than the alternative, Eren supposed, but left him with the impression that they were paying a far more earthly sort of attention to him than spirits were supposed to.

There was a strongly indicated preference for black tea, as it was always at the front of the cupboard every morning, and his coffee at the back. As an experiment, Eren actually made some tea one morning and left it on the counter, but the results were inconclusive.

Attempting to use the cat as a detection device didn’t seem to work either.

The house remained disconcertingly clean.

At first all they seemed to want was to look after him, but as his hand improved and he was able to do things more easily they backed off. The atmosphere grew a bit more tense as well. It felt a bit like it did when his parents were having an argument, and Eren did not like it at all.

Nevertheless, he had the sense that something was going to have to give at some point, and when it did, he’d be ready. He hoped.

Eren liked fresh air, and now that the nights weren't as bitter he decided to leave the window open, which is why he was huddling miserably deep under all his blankets when he woke up the next day, and why they didn't notice he was awake.

He woke up to hushed voices, apparently having an argument over his bed.

“Just leave him be.”

“He might know. He might remember.”

“He clearly doesn't.”

“You don't _know_ that, Levi.”

He had a name. Eren turned it over in his head as he focused on keeping still, keeping his breathing even, even though his heart was pounding. It didn't mean anything to him. He wondered what language they were speaking; it didn't seem to be any in particular, no accents, but he could understand every word.

“He's happy as he is, just fucking leave him be.”

“The way you've been leaving him be? Picking up after him like a maid or something.”

“He was hurt, he needed our help.” A sigh. “We should have been faster. I should have.”

“He's fine.”

Silence.

“He is,” Levi spoke again. “I never thought I'd see him grown up.”

Eren got the impression he was being stared at, or rather, the lump he made under the blankets was being stared at. It was almost unbearable, but he forced himself to remain still, waiting for more information.

“This could be our only chance,” Not-Levi said. Eren got the impression this was a discussion they'd had many times before. “How can we not take advantage of it?”

“He did enough before. You're being selfish, Erwin.”

“Yes, you keep saying that, but I'm not the only one. Are you planning on dusting his moving picture box forever?” Maybe this Erwin had sensed he'd gone too far because he immediately changed tack, his voice mollifying. “More importantly, he already knows we're here.”

Eren was running out of air; it was awfully stuffy under the covers, and normally he would have shifted around by now.

“He doesn't _know_ anything.”

Eren had had enough. He sat up, flinging off the covers so violently they fell off the end of the bed.

“That's because you never tell me anything!” he burst out.

The room was empty.

Eren scowled and folded his arms. He wasn't fooled.

“Erwin, Levi,” he began. “I know you're there because I heard you talking. So fucking manifest already, or I'll, I'll-” He couldn't actually think of any threats to make. He sighed. “Please? This is driving me nuts. I promise I won't freak out or tell anyone.”

He waited, shivering slightly in the cold morning air coming in his open window, but he didn't move to close it, instead setting his jaw and waiting.

Eren's room faced west, and in the mornings it was cold and gloomy, but there was enough light coming in the window to see clearly, and Eren held his breath as he realised light was reflecting from more and more surfaces that weren't there a minute ago.

They weren't quite real, he could see through them, but they had colour; one blond, one dark, neither of them terribly young nor terribly old, but both looked drawn and tired. They were wearing uniforms, although Eren didn't recognise them, nor did he understand why they wore those leather straps under their jackets and on their legs, as they seemed to carry no weapons that he could see.

To his mild shock, he realised the blond one only had one arm, his loose sleeve pinned up out of the way.

They were both looking at him with a wary intensity, expectantly. Eren didn't know what to say.

“Hi,” he ventured.

The short one sighed, and Eren matched the voice to the name as Levi spoke. “He doesn't recognise us.”

“Should I?” Eren asked. “I'm not from around here, I mean, my family is, a couple generations back. But I'm just visiting.”

“We don't know,” Erwin said. “We were very surprised to see you.”

Levi moved across the room and shut the window, “You should get dressed before anything else,” he said. “You don't want to catch a cold.”

“We won't go anywhere,” Erwin added. “We'll see you in the kitchen.”

“Okay,” Eren said, grateful to have an opportunity to quietly freak out by himself for a couple of minutes.

Erwin and Levi flickered out of existence, like candles being snuffed, and Eren sensed he was once again truly alone in the room.

He took a deep breath and got out of bed. He sort of flung the covers back up onto it, and wondered if it would be neatly made when he came back later.

It wouldn't be the first time.

Even though his guests had seen him in every state of dishevelment, Eren dressed neatly and combed his hair. He wasn't expecting his ghosts to be quite so, so, whatever they were.

The kitchen was as bright as his bedroom had been dark. He couldn't remember if he'd left the curtains open, but they were open now, and sunlight gleamed off the sink. It was warm and cheerful despite the fact that there were two slightly transparent military men sitting at his kitchen table. Definitely military, although Eren didn’t recognise the overlapping wings on their insignias.

“I owe you thanks, don’t I?” Eren said as he came into the room. “You saved me that night. That was you.”

“We did our best within our rather limited capabilities,” Erwin said. “You’re welcome.”

“You don’t owe us anything,” Levi said quickly.

Eren frowned and put the kettle on. “I get the impression you don’t help everyone then.”

“We’re not normally aware of individual people,” Erwin said. “Our attention is scattered most of the time. When we saw your blood, it focused us.”

“You’re dead, aren’t you? You’re like, ghosts.”

“Yeah,” Levi said.

“And I’m supposed to help you, right?” Eren said. “Unfinished business; you solve whatever’s bothering you and then you move on.”

“Yes-”

“No!” Levi half-rose out of his seat.

The three of them stared at each other until the water boiled and the kettle started to whistle.

“Do you want anything?” Eren asked, before he’d really thought about it, and their expressions softened a little. He didn’t quite understand why they were so instantly fond of him. “I guess not. Sorry.”

“What is that stuff?” Erwin asked.

“Coffee?” he held out the tin. “This is just instant. It’s much better if you make it properly.” He frowned. “If it’s not too rude a question, how long have you guys been dead?”

“We’re not really sure,” Erwin said. “Dying tends to scatter your wits. By the time we collected ourselves, became what we are, the walls had fallen, and everything had changed. Shiganshina was rebuilt. It could have been years, or decades, or centuries. We lose time very easily, get distracted and everything shifts about and the machines are all different.”

“Huh.”

Eren sipped his coffee, leaning against the sink and letting the sun soak through the back of his shirt.

“I want to help you out,” Eren said. “You helped me, so it’s only fair, right?”

“Thank you, Eren,” Erwin smiled at him.

Levi scowled. “You don’t know what we want from you,” he said.

“You’re not gonna possess me and take my place are you?” Eren asked.

“What? No.” Erwin looked startled at the very thought. Levi was still bristling like a cat that had fallen in the bath.

“What’s wrong?” Eren asked him.

“Erwin doesn’t want to hurt you,” Levi said. “But what he’s asking for might hurt you anyway.”

“And it might not,” Erwin said. “The walls came down. Maybe we didn’t die in vain. Maybe he lived.”

“Who lived?” Eren asked curiously. Whoever it was, they certainly wouldn’t be alive now. The walls around Shiganshina had been destroyed centuries prior, even though some fragmented stones were still standing.

They looked at each other for a long moment.

“I’ll be gentle,” Erwin said to Levi. “I promise. Eren, do we look familiar to you?”

“No.” Eren was quite confident. “But you act like you know me, now I think about it.”

“We did know you,” Erwin said. “When we lived, you lived too. You were a member of the Survey Corps; you wore this uniform.”

“What, like a past life or something?”

“Yes, maybe.” Erwin was looking at him intently, willing him to understand. “Does it sound familiar?”

Eren looked at their clothes, rough homespun cloth. “We fought together?”

“You were our only hope,” Levi said. He gave Eren a bleak look. “We put you through so much. You put yourself through so much. In the end, I failed to protect you.”

“We both did,” Erwin said. “The odds were against us from the start, but maybe you succeeded without us in the end. It’s what I’d hoped you might remember, what the secret that was hidden from us was.”

“Are you happy, Eren?” Levi asked, ignoring Erwin. “With your life.”

“Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. It sounds a lot better than what you guys must have gone through.”

“Good.” Levi was looking at him so intently, almost looking through him. “You deserve it.”

Eren wasn’t sure what to say.

“If you could recall-”

“Leave him be, Erwin!” Levi snapped. “He doesn’t remember. It should stay that way.”

Erwin looked like he was going to argue for a moment, and then he relented. “Maybe that is enough for now,” Erwin said. “Eren hasn’t even had breakfast yet.”

“Oh yeah, I guess I’d forgotten. I think I have eggs.”

“You eat so well these days,” Erwin said. “I confess I envy you a little. Anyway, take some time to think about it. We’ll come back later.”

“Wait!” Eren had been rummaging around in the fridge and he straightened up. “Please don’t go. You’re welcome to stay.”

They looked a bit uncertain, and Eren gave them his sweetest smile.

“Well, if you want us to,” Levi said.

“I do,” Eren said firmly. Weirdly these ghosts seemed more upset about him than he was about them. “It’s pretty cool having supernatural guests, and you know it gets lonely eating by myself.” He started putting the ingredients for scrambled eggs on the counter. “Maybe you could tell me more about yourselves?” Eren suggested, levering some butter into the pan.

“Well, Levi’s a foul-mouthed clean freak,” Erwin began.

“And Erwin’s a selfish bastard,” Levi said.

Eren laughed. “So you’ve been making my bed and stuff.” Eren glanced over his shoulder. “Are you going to keep doing that, because it’s really helpful.”

“You should learn to do it yourself,” Levi said.

“Ignore him, he loves it,” Erwin said. “He hasn’t had this much fun in decades.” Eren knew they were doing it deliberately, lightening the atmosphere and talking about inconsequential things, but it was still pretty amusing.

The cat visited while Eren was cooking, because of course it did, and Levi got up to pat it, its weird undulations suddenly making a lot more sense.

“You like cats?” Eren asked.

“They fucking shed everywhere,” Levi grumbled.

Eren glanced over his shoulder as he buttered his toast and caught Erwin staring fondly at them both, a smile hovering around his lips. When he caught Eren’s eye Eren smiled back, a bit shyly.

“You’re very domestic,” Erwin said, as Eren brought his plate over, his toast piled high with golden eggs flecked with green chives and steaming gently.

“My mom says ‘if you can’t fill plates, you don’t get dates’ and she made me learn,” Eren said.

“I can't imagine that's much of a problem for you,” Erwin murmured.

“And your mother is well?” Levi asked, somewhat cautiously.

“Yeah, weren’t you there when I talked to her on skype?”

“We never knew her when you lived in our time,” Erwin said. “And we don’t eavesdrop on your private conversations. I’m glad she’s well, however.”

They were really sort of sweetly awkward, Eren thought, and he wondered if he’d be allowed to take them back with him when he went home.

 


	4. Grass is Green

 

Erwin and Levi were waiting for him at Shiganshina's walls.

There wasn't much left of them; Eren had done some research into the matter, but it wasn't even clear where they'd once stood in their entirety, and no one seemed much interested anyway. A fragment remained to the north of the Old Town, where the ground rose higher and rockier, and the difficulties of farming and building on the land had served to preserve some of them.

There was a well-signed tourist path to the 'Shiganshina's Old Town Lookout', but summer was still a couple of months off and so far the tourists were few and far between. Eren strolled up the slope, his bag slung over his shoulder, the Old Town by now relatively familiar territory despite the fact he hadn't gone this particular way before.

There were two walls, one inner one and one outer one, both in utter ruins. At their tallest point they were only a couple of meters high, jagged edges of stone lightly patterned with pollution stains and lichen. Eren walked up the path that led between them, and stepped over a fallen piece of stone to gaze out at the countryside beyond.

Rolling fields of grass stretched out before him, dotted with dandelions and daisies among the rich green. The fields were too stony to be worth ploughing, lumps of rock jutting up through the long, lush grass, although he saw a small flock of sheep grazing in the distance. Beyond the fields, cars were moving on a road and then more farmland. Peaceful, he thought.

Erwin and Levi were standing in the shadow of what was left of the wall, looking at him rather than the scenery and when he realised he was being observed he turned to face them.

They were a lot less ubiquitous now. Something about manifesting so he could see them was a strain and they spent much of the day 'dissolved' as Levi called it, but so far they hadn't got distracted and forgotten to come back.

He missed them sometimes.

“Hey guys,” he said. He'd been prepared to pretend he was talking on the phone, but on this Tuesday afternoon, as lovely as it was, he had the place to himself.

“Hello, Eren,” Erwin said. “Do they look familiar?”

They'd been surprisingly reluctant to answer any of his questions, Erwin wanting to see if he'd remember anything first, and Levi simply not wanting to talk much, which is what had driven Eren to Google in the first place.

Eren walked up to the wall and placed his hand on it. It was slightly warm from having been in the sun, and smooth, like concrete rather than individual stones.

“Not really,” he confessed. “Were they built to keep out the Turks?” he asked.

“Who?” Levi asked.

“Uh, the Moors? Mongolians? Vikings?” Eren sighed at their blank expressions. “I know you want to see if I can remember, but can you at least tell me who we were fighting?”

“They were built to keep out the titans,” Levi said.

They were doing that thing where they waited for him to react. All Eren could do was shrug helplessly; he was pretty sure they didn't mean the football team.

“They were giants who devoured-” Erwin began.

“Holy shit!” Eren couldn't stop himself shouting. “ _Giants_?”

“You remember?” Erwin asked eagerly.

“No.” His face fell. “But my grandmother told me stories about giants, how they carried off children and ate them.”

“They ate everyone,” Levi said sombrely. “Well, not everyone. Some people could order them to stop.”

“You seriously fought giants?” Eren had trouble believing it, but a few weeks ago he would have had trouble believing in ghosts as well, so he was going to try and go along with it.

“I suppose it makes sense that people forgot in the end,” Erwin mused. “Turned them into folk tales. They were real, though. They kept humanity penned up like cattle for the most part, behind the walls.”

“How big were the walls?” Eren asked.

“Fifty meters high.”

“You're kidding. But they're so thin.”

“Thin?”

“Look at them,” Eren said. “Construction isn't my speciality but the base of this wall couldn't possibly support something fifty metres high.”

“No you're only looking at part of the wall. There was only ever one,” Erwin said. “Not two. There was a hollow space inside.”

Eren walked back between the walls, and looked up, trying to visualise them fifty meters high. That made slightly more sense, he supposed.

“Why were they hollow?” he asked. “Lack of materials or were there fortifications inside?”

“There were giants inside,” Levi said. “Packed in next to each other.”

“Why? How?”

“We don't know,” Erwin said. “We died before we could discover the truth.”

Eren looked down at his feet, at the ground where giants had apparently stood. “That's what you want me to remember.”

“Part of it,” Erwin said.

“It's fine if you can't,” Levi said. “They're gone now.”

But you're not, Eren thought.

“Okay,” Eren said. “I want to hear the whole thing.” He sat down in the grass, with his back to the wall and the countryside spread out in front of him and took his notebook out of his bag. “And I'll take notes. Don't worry, if someone finds them somehow I'll just say I'm thinking of writing a novel.” He clicked his pen and looked up at them expectantly.

“Eren.” Levi looked worried.

“Why else are you here?” Eren asked. “Maybe it's because everyone's forgotten that you haven't moved on.”

“I don't think so,” Erwin said, but nevertheless he sat down next to him, the grass not so much as shivering under his non-existent weight. “But I think if you have any chance of recovering your memory, you should hear the story anyway.”

“Erwin knows,” Levi said. “I don't have to stay here, do I?”

“No,” Eren said. “But I'd like it if you did.” He gazed up at him.

“You've seen things I only heard about from you,” Erwin said. “And you knew Eren better than I did.”

Levi sighed, and flopped down. “Fine. Get on with it.”

Eren smiled his thanks.

“Well,” Erwin began. “We were taught that over a hundred years ago, humanity was nearly destroyed by the titans.”

Eren started out taking notes, but soon the notebook lay forgotten in the grass as the hours drifted by and shadows grew long as the sky paled towards evening, and they talked. It sounded like a story more than something that had really happened and Eren was gripped, utterly lost in the tale even if one of the characters did have his own name.

Levi spoke sometimes, giving clipped factual reports of what happened when Erwin wasn't present, like he couldn't quite trust himself to say anything beyond that. Could I really be that brave, Eren wondered.

“I don't know what happened next,” Erwin said.

“You died,” Levi replied. “I saw your horse go down. There was a lot of dust, but.” He narrowed his eyes. “How fucking stupid were you, charging into battle when you have only one fucking arm!”

“We both knew what the likely outcome was,” Erwin said. “You never mentioned that you saw what happened.”

“You never asked.”

“What,” Eren began. He'd been so caught up in the story he'd sort of forgotten the narrators had both died halfway through. “What happened to you, Levi?”

“Not much more,” he said. His tale ended soon after, death a confused surprise rather than an agony, and Eren was glad of it.

“I wanted to find out what had happened to you, Eren,” Levi said. “I suppose I pulled myself together, thought maybe there was more I could do. All I found was him, doing much the same thing, looking for your basement.”

“We looked for other ghosts,” Erwin said. “And we see them sometimes, but they don't last long; they give up, and flicker out. It was never anyone we recognised anyway.”

“But you didn't flicker out,” Eren said.

“I have him to blame,” Erwin said, looking at Levi. “We reminded each other of who we were and what had happened. We kept each other focused. I think, without that, we'd be long gone regardless of how much I wish I knew how the war had ended.”

Eren leaned his head back against the wall, and noticed the first stars were starting to come out. The sun was still on distant hills; he'd have to go back soon, but not quite yet. A cricket chirped in the long grass, and Eren was slightly cold, and rather sad.

“He, that is, past me, must have beaten them, right?”

“We hope so,” Erwin said. “But how much time had passed, we had no idea. The walls might have been coming down anyway,” he added darkly.

“You know, the story they told you can't have been true,” Eren said carefully. “About humanity being nearly wiped out. A near-extinction event like that would have left some sort of archaeological record. We'd know.”

“It wouldn't surprise me if they were lying, or simply didn't know,” Erwin said. “We did eventually learn that there were people outside the walls, so you might be right. What we thought was all of humanity might not have been any such thing.”

“But the walls were real,” Eren said softly.

They'd had such hard lives, he thought. No wonder they were so amazed by the way he lived now.

“Is any of this familiar, Eren?” Erwin asked.

“No.” Eren hung his head. “I'm sorry, I know you wanted to find out what was in that basement. I'll definitely think about it though. Maybe now I have more information, I'll be able to remember something.”

He tried to put himself in his namesake's shoes, losing his family, joining the military. He felt an overwhelming urge to call his parents.

“That guy, Eren, he couldn't have been me,” Eren said. “I would have pissed myself. If what Armin had said was true he lost a fucking _leg_ and kept going.” He glanced at Erwin. “I mean, apparently everyone was a stone cold badass back then, but still.”

Levi snorted. “Don't feed his ego.”

“I'm glad you've never had your limits tested like that,” Erwin said. “If nothing else, it's been heartening to see you again.”

“It's not really me.”

“Trust us,” Levi said. “You're the same guy where it counts. You shout at ghosts.”

Eren smiled. “Hey, do you guys feel up to sticking around this evening? It's okay if you can't but-”

“Of course,” Erwin said. “It's not like we have anything better to do.”

Eren packed away his notebook and got to his feet. A breeze rippled through the grass and ruffled his hair. It was a bit cold now, but in summer he thought this place might be wonderful.

The sun set as he walked back into Old Town, and the lack of street lighting revealed something he'd not noticed before; his companions were faintly luminous. It was really only noticeable when they stood in deep shadow.

“You glow,” he said wonderingly.

“Do we?” Erwin said, holding up his hand. “It's hard to tell.”

“Definitely. It's beautiful.” It made it hard for him to take his eyes off them.

Eren didn't want to strain the unnatural physiology of his ghostly acquaintances, and he wasn't going to suggest they hang around further, but they accompanied him inside and Levi started folding Eren's laundry and Erwin offered to put the kettle on.

Maybe ghosts had ghosts of their own, and after sharing their stories they didn't feel like being alone. Eren was sort of glad, because he wanted company as well, and he went to help Levi with his laundry before he felt too guilty about it. He was getting into much tidier habits through sheer guilt, although Levi never actually chipped him for anything. When Eren had asked him about it he said he never really enjoyed ordering his subordinates about, and he was glad he no longer had to.

Which meant Eren worked twice as hard to make sure Levi was happy with his work, knowing he wouldn't say anything if he wasn't.

He'd also learnt Levi was responsible for the black tea migrating around his cupboard, although he'd stopped once Eren had started talking to them.

Eren decided it was too late for coffee and made tea, since he didn't intend to stay up working. If anything, he thought he was going to have trouble getting to sleep.

“I suppose you can't eat or drink anything,” Eren said. “That's a shame.”

“I'm very curious about this coffee,” Erwin confessed.

“It looks disgusting,” Levi said. “Like dirt.”

They had preferred chairs by now, Eren liked to face the window and Erwin opposite and Levi on his left. Eren thought idly about dinner and watched the steam rise from his cup.

“What's it like being dead?” he asked, and he thought he'd been rather restrained waiting so long to enquire.

“It's not much,” Erwin said. “Boring really, which is why I suppose most of them fade away pretty quickly.”

“There's no like, afterlife?” Eren ventured.

“All we know is this. Who knows what comes after,” Erwin said. “We can push things around, to a certain extent, but we can't really feel or smell or taste anything. I suppose we're lucky we can see and hear.”

“I was never really afraid of death,” Levi said. “It was always there, all around. If anything, I felt left behind, because I had more to do, I suppose. I thought it would just be like going to sleep, like nothing.” He frowned. “This is worse, I think. Can't feel anything, can't do anything and the world doesn't make a lot of sense.”

“I'm sorry,” Eren said.

“Well, it's no worse than we deserve. Better, probably.”

“You're too hard on yourselves,” Eren muttered, and hid behind his mug of tea. He didn't know how to comfort them, but he wanted to. If he reached out, he knew his hands would only meet empty air, and he wasn't sure he had the right to anyway.

 


	5. A Sea is Blue

 

Eren splashed home in warm rain, the drops hitting his umbrella like someone lightly drumming their fingers. He unlocked the front door and darted in. There were no cats about today.

“Anyone home?” he called as he tried to shake most of the water off the umbrella outside.

“Yes,” Erwin said, materialising on the stairs. “How was your day?”

Ghosts made good housemates, overall, and Eren was falling into a comfortable lifestyle with them. Perhaps too comfortable, he sometimes thought. It was amazing what you could get used to, could consider _normal._

“I think Vera's trying to set me up with her daughter,” Eren said, putting his shoes next to his umbrella in the hallway to dry, quite certain they _would_ dry with a little ghostly help. “She's doing some sort of degree in England. I'm afraid the language barrier prevented me from learning more. Vera showed me lots of photos though.”

“Not interested?” Erwin asked as Eren went past him on the stairs. He tried not to touch them too much; they didn't feel of anything, just cold space, but it seemed rude to remind them of their insubstantial nature. He didn't like to be reminded either.

“Well, my last ex broke up with me because he said he felt like he was in a threesome with me and my thesis,” Eren said, flinging his bag on the bed. “Which, okay, ouch, but also fair enough. I just don't have time for that sort of thing right now.”

By the time he'd gotten changed out of his damp clothes, Erwin had boiled the kettle and Levi had materialised. They sat around the kitchen table as they usually did, and Eren told them of his trip to the university library. It wasn't all that exciting, but they seemed interested in anything he had to say. Presumably they'd learned a lot about his thesis.

He'd all but given up on trying to remember what they claimed was his past life. Aside from a couple of dreams inspired by what they'd told him, absolutely nothing had come to him in the weeks since. He was getting good enough at reading them to know Erwin was more disappointed than he let on, although Levi didn't seem bothered.

Eren felt he'd failed somehow. As much as they liked his company, and as much as Levi apparently enjoyed cleaning his house, Eren couldn't bring himself to believe their existence was a happy one. They were lost in time, and burdened by the lives they'd led. Erwin had lots of theories, and sometimes he shared them with Eren; Levi didn't seem to want to hear.

The first time Levi had told one of his filthy deadpan jokes, Eren wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. He'd stared at him blankly for a few moments while his brain had caught up, and then he'd started laughing, partly because the joke was terrible, and partly with relief. It was the first time he'd seen Levi smile.

From then on he'd encouraged him, telling jokes of his own and driving Erwin from the room in disgust, more often than not.

Or perhaps he was just giving them some space.

That evening it rained for the third night in a row. A bright start to the spring had given way to a soggy slog towards summer, which was prophesied to arrive any week now, although Eren would believe it when he saw it.

Levi helped with the drying up after dinner. He didn't need a cloth; he just sort of moved the water away, like he moved dust away, without actually touching anything. He probably could have done it all himself, but shoulder to shoulder like this he seemed more real when Eren wasn't looking directly at him.

They were joking and Eren was laughing. Levi didn't laugh much, he just got a weird pleased expression whenever Eren did. It was only when Eren was putting the dishes away that he realised Erwin was still there. He hadn't manifested, but Eren could tell when they were around anyway.

Erwin didn't show himself until much later, when Eren had finished his work for the evening and was turning off his computer.

“Are you all right?”

Erwin was standing at the window, looking out at the rain, his one arm wrapped around himself, looking thoughtful.

“He loved you, you know,” Erwin said. “He had a good heart. I'm not sure how he stood it.”

“What?” One thing Erwin and Levi were both pretty terrible at was talking about themselves as people, rather than reciting events and battlefield decisions. This felt like new territory. “How?”

“Well, not so you'd notice,” Erwin said. “You were barely sixteen and we were fighting an all but hopeless war.” He looked over his shoulder and gave Eren a grim little smile.

“Did I, I mean he, love him back?” Eren wasn’t sure if he wanted to believe he did or not.

“I don't know,” Erwin said. “I didn't know you all that well, no more than was useful.” He frowned. “I regret that now.”

Eren didn't know what to say. When he went to bed that night he lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling.

Erwin didn't mention it again, and Eren wondered if he regretted even bringing the topic up. The more Eren thought about it, the more he thought Erwin was right though. A lot of Levi's guilt seemed to revolve around him, and Eren wasn't sure what he could do to fix it.

“Did you have anyone?” Eren eventually worked up the nerve to ask Erwin one morning when his thesis was going slowly and he couldn't help but sneak glances at the ghost leaning against the wall.

“I chose my dream over other people,” Erwin replied. “I saw everyone as a set of possibilities, how useful they were. Even you. Even Levi. In that way, I suppose I sacrificed my heart.”

“You've still got a heart,” Eren muttered, turning back to his screen. “More than you think.”

I can't just give up, Eren thought.

The next time both the ghosts were there, he showed them google earth. “So, Shiganshina's still the way it always was, maybe we could see if other places survived as well. Take a day trip or something.”

“Look for the capital,” Erwin suggested as they peered over his shoulders. “It will probably have a different name, since it's no longer the centre of the known world.”

“What's the scale of this map?” Levi asked.

“You adjust it by sliding it at the side.”

The capital had gone. Utterly.

“How big were the walls?” Eren asked, scrolling back.

“What's that?” Levi pointed. “That lake's fucking huge.”

“That's the Mediterranean Sea,” Eren said. He scrolled out further, so that all of Europe was stretched across the screen.

“Atlantic Sea. That's England.” He kept scrolling, pulling the whole world into view. “That's America. That's where I'm from.”

They'd gone utterly silent and when Eren looked at them they were staring in amazement.

“The ocean's real after all,” Levi said faintly. “I wonder if you got to see it. Maybe you saw more than one. There's more water than land; we’re on an island.”

“Well, sort of. It's a continent,” Eren said, wondering if he’d have to start teaching them basic geography.

“I can't quite grasp how big it all is,” Erwin said. “I knew the world was large, but nothing like this.”

“About seventy percent of the Earth's surface is water,” Eren said.

“Are there any pictures of the oceans?” Erwin asked.

Eren laughed, “Yeah, plenty. But we can do better than that. Why don't we go there ourselves?”

“Is it hard to get there?”

“Not really.” He thought about it for a moment. “We can catch a train to Greece, and visit the Aegean. We could do it in a day, that is, if you guys are allowed to leave?”

“That wouldn't be bad,” Levi said. There was a light in his eyes Eren hadn’t seen before. He grinned at them.

“Okay, next fine weather we get, we're off.” It would be good practice, Eren thought, for when he went back to the US. Maybe he could take them with him. He could only imagine their amazement at the things they'd see there.

He was looking forward to taking a little holiday himself, and the way the other two pretended they weren't as excited as they were was rather endearing.

“We can't afford to dissolve on the way,” Erwin said. “We'd lose you, and we'd probably forget how to get back to familiar territory.”

“Will you be okay?” Eren asked.

“If we can't do this, what good are we?” Levi said. “Don't worry about us.”

Eren kept his own schedule, so once the rain had gone one sunny morning he found himself once again boarding the train. This time two ghostly presences hovered near him as he found a seat, and settled in for the journey. Erwin and Levi were conserving themselves by remaining invisible but he knew they were there.

Eren put on his headphones and gazed out the window. The rain had done the countryside no end of good, and the grass and crops were rich and lush. He could see puddles of water shining in the sun in low-lying areas as the train sped past. It was beautiful country. His family’s country.

He could feel Erwin and Levi pressed close to look out the window, almost as they had been when he’d come home from hospital; there but barely.

Eren was excited, not just on their behalf. He’d always liked the beach. He’d picked a small, out of the way spot that hopefully would still be pretty quiet this early in the tourist season. Just a fishing village, but one that welcomed visitors.

Once they’d arrived in Greece they had to transfer to a local train service, and then a bus, and each time Eren worried he’d lose his friends, but after he’d found a seat they found him, and he relaxed again.

The country here was wild and rocky and Eren saw a few goats as the bus wound its way towards the sea. When he caught a glimpse of blue ocean he nearly pointed it out, like a kid.

When they got off the bus Eren was starving, and the smell of salt air only sharpened his appetite. He found a cafe that served fish and chips, presumably to make British tourists feel at home, and excellent coffee and once he’d licked the last of the salt off his fingers he went in search of the sea.

Erwin and Levi flickered into visibility beside him, keeping pace as he strolled down the steep streets and paused to take photographs of the colourful stucco houses. They could have gone on ahead easily enough, but they'd agreed it would be more enjoyable to go together.

Finally, the land dropped away before them, and the Aegean Sea spread out to the horizon, a deep, glorious blue dotted with white. Eren sighed happily and lifted his camera, seagulls wheeling in the air above them.

“Here we are,” he said softly.

“I remember the map,” Erwin said. “This is just a small sea.”

“It wasn’t that far from the walls,” Levi said. “Even over bad country it would have been a couple of weeks on horseback at most.” He glanced at Eren. “You might have found it, after all.”

“Let’s go down,” Eren said, sure he was grinning like an idiot at their awestruck expressions.

He trotted down the slope, the salt-laced breeze in his hair, and followed the signs to a tiny sliver of beach on what was otherwise a rocky coast. He could see islands out in the blue haze and a few fishing boats closer to shore, but couldn’t make out any details.

To his delight, they had the place to themselves.

He took off his shoes and scrunched his toes in the warm sand, leaving his belongings in a careful pile before heading down to the water. Levi was already there, standing hip-deep in the waves, while Erwin paced along the beach, peering out to sea or bending down to look at things that had washed up.

“Do you like it?” Eren asked, wading out until the water was splashing the hem of his shorts. It was still a bit cool to go swimming.

“It’s beautiful,” Levi said. “I hope you got to see it.”

“I’m seeing it now,” Eren said. “I know that’s not much but-”

“It’s something. Maybe it’s everything.” He turned and walked closer, so they were standing face to face. Levi frowned. “My task was to protect you.”

“And you did, remember?” Eren held out his arm, the scar still pinkish. “But you know, you don’t have to look after me any more. I’m safe, and happy, and I grew up.”

“You did,” Levi said with a faint smile. “I’m sorry I wasn't there the first time, Eren.”

“I’m sure he was sorry too,” Eren said. “And I’m glad I got to meet you in this life as well. But you don’t have to worry about me any more.”

Levi looked about at the sea. “I suppose not. It really is over.” He seemed to be getting lighter, brighter, but more insubstantial. He looked at Eren, frowning. “I just-” Even his voice was fading.

“I’m sure he loved you too,” Eren said, and by the time he’d finished speaking, he was gone. Eren stared out into the endless blue and white, gentle waves lapping and his knees, warm sun on his back and shoulders, waiting for Erwin to speak.

“You did the right thing,” Erwin said. “He’s free.”

“I’m gonna miss him.”

“So will I.”

Eren took a deep, shuddery breath. “You could go with him.”

“Eren, I can’t. I have to know-”

“Do you?” Eren turned and marched out of the sea, brushing through Erwin as he did so. “You go on about the basement, but what could really be in there?” He flung himself down by his bag, resting his back against it. “You know people. You know why they do things, what they’re capable of. Whatever was in there, if anything, it was just people being people. Good intentioned or bad, is there any mystery in that now you’ve seen what’s outside?”

Erwin sat down beside him, braced on his one arm. “That’s easy to say, but this has been my entire my life, to find the truth.”

“What would you have done once you’d found it?” Eren asked. “The walls came down, we were free, what next?”

“I don’t know. I tried not to think of it. I suppose I would like a house somewhere quiet. A family. I wouldn’t care what kind, it would just be enough to choose someone, have someone choose me, despite all I’d done. I don’t know that anyone-”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Eren said firmly, far more confidently than he felt. “I know two people who were happy to choose you.” Erwin stared at him. “We lived together, didn’t we? I thought it was good.”

“You.” Erwin chuckled and then he tilted his head back to gaze at the sky. “I suppose we did. It was peaceful, wasn’t it? Sometimes I even forgot…”

Eren didn’t trust himself to speak.

Erwin sat up so he could lift his hand to Eren’s cheek, a chill sensation, nothing more. “I can see what he saw in you. Be well, Eren.”

“I won’t forget you,” Eren promised.

No one heard him, and he put his head down and cried until he’d run out of tears.

 


	6. A Flower is Violet

 

Summer in Shiganshina brought tourists walking the cobbled streets of Old Town, and a confused mix of languages floating in through the open windows on the warm breeze. The locals were slightly resentful of the intrusion, but Eren rather liked it. Fellow speakers of English were often delighted to meet him and hear his story about how he came to live in such a picturesque part of the world.

With the weather so fine he often made the walk up to the lookout and the remains of the wall. His house, so cold and gloomy in early spring, was now quite hot and stuffy in the afternoons, and it was a relief to find a shaded spot outdoors. Drifts of tourists came and went, some accompanied by guides, but Eren was happy to sit there for hours, enjoying the fresh air. Sometimes he brought printed parts of his thesis and took a red pen to them, other times he sketched, and sometimes he just dozed off watching fluffy clouds drift by.

Around midsummer tiny purple flowers started growing everywhere. Eren didn’t recognise them, and thought they might be a local variety. They were delicate and easily crushed or bruised, and he gave up trying to pick them and take them home. Instead he took to doodling their star shape in the margins of his notebooks, and when he looked out over the countryside, the hillsides were tinged with violet that never quite came out right in the photos he took.

The weekends were the busiest times for tourists, and there was an ice-cream and drinks cart near the lookout making a fortune out of those who hadn’t been prepared for the steep climb. Eren didn’t try to get any work done on those days, content to people watch or sketch.

He had to admit, he wasn’t a very good artist. He’d done some draughtsmanship as part of his studies, and was fairly confident with perspective and buildings, but everything else was a bit of a disaster. He thought he was getting better though.

One Saturday afternoon he was sitting out of the way, his back to the wall as he worked and contemplated buying an ice cream. Clouds were fucking impossible to draw, he thought, frowning at the vague blobs on his page.

“Are you going to read the whole fucking thing?” someone said, and Eren snapped his head up, his heart thumping, because it sounded just like Levi.

No, not like Levi. This voice had an accent that sounded like it was from one of the British cop shows that were the only thing worth watching on TV here.

Eren lifted his sketchbook and hunched down behind it as he heard the owner of said voice approaching the gap in the wall.

“We paid for it we may as well read it.” Erwin, only posh. Well, posher at least.

Eren held his breath.

Levi stepped through the gap first. Levi, but not as Eren had ever seen him, in sneakers and jeans and a tshirt, pale skin gleaming under a layer of sunscreen, narrow eyes hidden behind sunglasses. He looked a bit taller too; not as tall as Eren himself, but definitely taller and not in the least transparent.

This didn’t make any sense. He’d bid their ghosts farewell only weeks ago; Levi looked like he was in his early thirties at least.

Who cared if it made sense. Erwin had two arms, and his nose in a guidebook as he stepped through the gap. He looked up when Levi nudged him, and they stared at the view.

“Not bad,” Levi said and it was all Eren could do not to get to his feet and throw himself at them. He bit his lip, hard, and forced himself to breathe.

“The walls were built to keep out the Ottoman Empire, as well as other dangers,” Erwin read out. “Today only a few fragments remain, but they once encircled all of Shiganshina.”

“It’s bullshit, you know,” Eren said, before he could stop himself, and they turned and looked at him. “I mean, it’s just a guess. They don’t actually know.”

Levi raised his eyebrows while Erwin closed his book and smiled. “Do you have a better theory?”

Eren shrugged, “Not really, but my grandmother always said they were to keep out the giants.”

“You don’t sound like you’re from around here,” Erwin said, happy to make small talk while Levi watched.

Eren explained his family history and introduced himself.

“I’m Erwin Smith. And this little ray of sunshine is Levi Ackerman.”

Levi scowled at Erwin but managed to arrange his face slightly more pleasantly when he looked at Eren.

Eren beamed at them. Knew it was weird. Couldn’t help it.

“How big were these giants?” Levi asked. At Erwin’s surprised look he shrugged. “His story’s more interesting than yours.”

“Well, they were of different sizes,” Eren said. “But the walls were fifty meters high.”

He felt a bit like Scheherazade, relying on his storytelling skills to keep them interested, as he threw some of his grandmother’s tales into the mix of what they themselves had told him not so long ago.

After a little while, Erwin seated himself on a rock, and then Levi joined him, their arms touching, bemused but fascinated.

“You should write a book,” Erwin said, when Eren paused to marshal his thoughts.

“Well, I’ve considered it,” Eren said. “But my grandmother never told me how we defeated the giants once and for all. Cause they’re certainly not around today.”

“Just make something up,” Levi said.

“It’s harder than it sounds,” Eren said. “These stories are important. They should have the right ending, you know?”

“It will come to you,” Erwin said. “You've done a lot of talking, and we've done a lot of walking. Would you like a drink?”

Eren asked for orange soda and Levi said he'd have some water. He pushed his sunglasses up on his head once Erwin had gone and looked at Eren speculatively.

“Do you tell that story to everyone you meet?” he asked.

“No, you're the first really.” Eren was suddenly shy under Levi's gaze. This Levi was a stranger, with a stranger’s mystery and possibilities. “I just, I dunno, it all came out. I hope it wasn't too boring.”

“Nah, the shit Erwin's been reading out to be all day has been boring. This was actually kind of exciting.”

“You seem like.” Oh crap, how should he finish this sentence? Good friends? A nice couple? An interesting pair? “You get on well,” he mumbled.

“Well, I wouldn't travel with him if I didn't find something about him worthwhile,” Levi said as Erwin approached with glass bottles of soda and mineral water. They were local brands, and Eren rather liked them.

“What baseless rumours are you spreading now?” Erwin asked, handing Eren one of the bottles.

“Our new friend is trying to gauge the depth of our relationship,” Levi said, looking amused.

“Oh, interesting.” Erwin smiled at him, like a cat sighting cream.

“It's not like that,” Eren said. “Can we talk about something else? Are you guys here on holiday?”

They humoured him with his change of subject, but Eren didn't think the matter was settled. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, but made his stomach flutter in a way the orange soda couldn’t settle.

“This is my second tour of the continent,” Erwin said. “I persuaded Levi to come with me since he hasn't been before. I'm doing all the things I never got around to the first time.”

“That is, the boring ones,” Levi interjected, looking up from reading the label on his mineral water.

“I thought you liked Switzerland,” Erwin muttered, putting his head to Levi’s.

“Yes, all right. It was very tidy.”

“Trust you to notice that.”

Eren grinned at them and they caught him grinning and he didn't mind too much.

The afternoon rolled on at the speed of the clouds in the sky, and they drank soda and talked. Erwin and Levi introduced themselves further; Erwin was a lecturer in journalism at one of the smaller English universities although he’d worked as an active correspondent for some years before that, and Levi worked at a cafe while he slowly got through a degree in social work.

“I left school early,” Levi said. “Had to go back and get my A-levels. I fucking hate academia, but I need my bit of paper if I want to do what I want to do.”

“You met at the university?” Eren asked.

“He wasn't in my class,” Erwin said. “But I saw him around. ”

“It’s not some sort of bullshit true love story,” Levi said. “It just felt like I’d known him forever. I’ve never met anyone like that.”

“Basically,” Erwin said.

Technically, they’d spent centuries together, Eren supposed, but he couldn’t help feeling a little left out. They must have seen his face fall because he found himself invited to dinner for a vague reason that sounded plausible enough.

Levi got a glimpse of Eren’s sketchbook and told him he was quite good, something Eren vehemently disagreed with. He did show them the drawing he’d done of the walls at their original height, Shiganshina as it might have been nestled within them.

“Not much of a view,” Erwin said. Not a flicker of recognition from either of them.

It was still light quite late at this time of year, and so they strolled through Old Town to a restaurant that Eren frequented sometimes. Eren pointed out architectural details, and Levi tried to surreptitiously click his fingers at the cats as they walked. The restaurant was kind of touristy, but it had a non-smoking section and that was worth the dubious decor and the overpriced wine list.

“There’s not really much to see here,” Eren said. “I mean, you’ve seen most of the interesting stuff already.”

“We weren’t planning on staying long,” Erwin said. “We’re heading south either tomorrow or the day after. Going to spend some time on the coast. Greece, Italy, Spain, and then home again. Whereupon I must start preparing next semester’s readings.”

“Ugh.” Levi drooped. “Don’t remind me about next semester.”

They were quite charmed to learn Eren actually lived in the Old Town, and asked him lots of questions about it over dinner. It was almost like old times, only it was so nice to see them eating and drinking, and talking to other people.

They were real.

Even if he never saw them again, Eren thought he’d be happy to know they were out there.

He didn’t actually mean to take them home afterwards. Full of food and beer he led them along familiar streets, still talking, and it was only when they halted at his front door did he realise what he’d done.

“So what’s this?” Erwin asked, gazing up at the house.

“This is, uh,” Eren rubbed the back of his neck. “Well it’s my house. Um, I’m sorry, it was just force of habit. But it’s really easy to get out of Old Town from here, you just head down-”

“We may as well have a look, since we’re here,” Levi said unexpectedly.

“Only if you’re comfortable with it,” Erwin added.

“Oh. Um, yeah, come in. I’ll get you coffee or something.”

He let them in and turned on the lights and tried not to think about how right it felt to see them there again. The house had seemed small when he’d moved in, but it had been awfully empty too, since he’d visited the ocean.

His chest ached strangely as he led them into the kitchen area.

“Oh this is quite liveable,” Erwin said. “Some of these old houses can be a bit damp. What ghastly wallpaper.”

“Not damp,” Eren said, automatically putting on the kettle. “But it was pretty cold earlier in the year.”

“It must have been quite a shock moving here,” Levi said. “Don't you get lonely?”

“Yeah,” Eren said, with more feeling than he'd intended, and the silence was awkward for a moment.

They sat at their usual places, and Levi raised his eyebrows when Eren put the teacup down in front of him.

“How did you know?” Levi asked.

Eren shrugged awkwardly. “You don’t seem a coffee person.”

“Do I?” Erwin asked.

“Yeah?”

“Milk, and half sugar,” Erwin smiled at him.

“I’m sorry it’s just instant,” Eren said.

“Huh, he’s not picky,” Levi said.

Eren had left the windows open, and it was quite pleasant now the day had cooled down. Occasionally he heard cats wailing from somewhere nearby, but there was no traffic.

“Eren, I really have to know,” Erwin said. “Which of us are you aiming for? I honestly can’t tell.”

“Uh. Well.” He darted a glance at Levi, which was probably a mistake, because he was in his usual spot to Eren’s left and much closer than he’d expected.

“He’s going red,” Levi observed.

Eren covered his face with his hands. “Fuck me,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean it like that!” he added before they could jump on the comment.

Erwin laughed and Levi patted him on the back.

“It’s all right, we’re teasing,” he said.

“It's not like that. I just like you. Like I know you,” Eren mumbled, and an odd silence fell.

“Maybe it's a bit like that for us too,” Erwin said eventually, as Eren lowered his hands. “But I think we should talk first.”

“I, um, oh.”

“You’re very cute, Eren,” Levi said. “But we’re not really casual sorts of people.”

“Yeah, no, me neither, um, please. Of course I like you but, uh, it’s just been really great to hang out and stuff.” He looked from one to the other, “Really great. I’m glad I got to meet you.”

“I don’t see why we can’t keep in touch,” Erwin said.

“What?”

“You’ve been living in Shiganshina too long,” Levi said. “Just fucking text us or something. Erwin’s got a farcebook, although because he’s a responsible educator he never posts anything interesting on it.”

“I suppose you think your constant stream of shit jokes and sarcasm on twitter is an improvement,” Erwin said. He looked at Eren, “So what do you think? He’s disgusting and I’m boring. Want to be friends?”

“You have a twitter account?”

“I’m not that fucking old!”

Eren nodded, grinning and feeling so light hearted he thought he might float away.

 


	7. A Snowy Night is White and Black

 

It was still dark when Eren’s alarm went off. He was curled up into a ball under all his blankets and he groaned as he wiggled a hand out to silence his phone. His fingers were cold by the time he’d grabbed it and pulled it back into his little cocoon of warmth.

It wasn’t even that early, but it was awfully hard to get out of bed nowadays. His hoodie was on top of his quilt and he put it on before he emerged from under the covers to put his socked feet into his slippers. The radiator was still on, but it seemed to be fighting a losing battle. Eren wished his house had carpets, not for the first time.

He shuffled across the room, his hands tucked into his sleeves, to look out the frosted window. His breath steamed in front of his face as he peered out into the dark, but didn’t see much more than his own wobbly reflection.

“Ugh,” he said. He fumbled with his phone and brought up the weather report, hoping for a few degrees improvement.

“Snow?” His eyes widened in shock. “Shit!”

He turned off the radiator and flew downstairs, his clothes for the day in his arms as he waited for the water in the shower to warm up before he started taking off his pyjamas.

Getting out of the shower was sheer torture. He dressed swiftly and lit the stove, partly to get breakfast cooking and partly so he could hold his fingers over the flame until his coffee was done and he could hold the mug instead.

Somewhat fortified after a fried cheese and tomato sandwich, the only thing he could make with the remaining food in the house, he did the last of his packing and checked everything was off and shut and otherwise made safe for his departure. He pulled his beanie down low over his ears and took a selfie.

_I’m on my way! Hope the weather holds._

Eren locked up behind him and trotted down the street, squinting at the sky and wondering how you could tell if it was going to snow. Old Town would look lovely in the snow, he thought, but to hell with waiting around to make sure. These last few weeks had been genuinely miserable.

He caught a bus in to the central station and huddled out of the wind with the other passengers while he waited for the train.

The train was heated. Sheer bliss, Eren thought as he took off his beanie and unzipped his jacket, already starting to sweat in the sudden warmth. The scenery outside was bare and frozen, the trees leafless and stark. Eren watched it glide by and found himself smiling. He had only hours to go now.

He had lunch at the airport, anxiously watching the weather reports and the departure board, but he had hours to kill and he ended up napping in one of the seats.

When he woke up there were messages on his phone and flakes of white falling from the sky.

DELAYED the departure board said. Eren whined a little in the back of his throat and consoled himself by buying some hot chocolate as he willed the time to go faster.

The flight wasn’t cancelled at least, and Eren settled back in his seat as the plane fruitlessly chased the setting sun, the skies dark when it finally began its descent to Heathrow. All had been peaceful above the clouds, but once they’d come down through them all Eren could see was darkness and swirling flakes of white until it banked, and his breath caught to see the lights of London in the distance.

It was still a few weeks to Christmas, but there were already decorations up at the airport and the place was packed. Eren checked his phone, wondering if it would be best if he went and got his luggage first when a shrill whistle got his (and everyone else's) attention.

Levi had whistled, of course he had, and Erwin was standing beside him looking apologetic in the ugliest Christmas sweater Eren had ever seen. And fuck, he'd promised himself he'd be cool. They were friends, they were online flirting buddies, they were not really his at all. He was going to stroll over and shake their hands and make a joke and-

Somehow he was already running. Well, as close to a run as was possible at a crowded departure terminal. I've missed you, I've missed you, his heart seemed to beat, like this was the ending to some godawful Christmas themed tearjerker.

Erwin held an arms out and Eren resigned himself to being an utter idiot and practically jumped into them and into Erwin's terrible woollen sweater and to his surprise he felt Levi's hand in his hair, ruffling it.

“I missed you,” Eren said, breathing him deep.

“Are you done making a spectacle of yourselves?” Levi asked.

“Nope,” Eren said, and released Erwin so he could hug Levi as well, who grumbled but didn't actually try and stop him.

“Let's find your luggage,” Erwin suggested. “We've got a long drive back home and the traffic was terrible coming in.”

“I hope your house is warmer than mine,” Eren said.

“We'll keep you warm,” Levi promised, with a significant look that made Eren flush. “We've been worried about you, in that freezing house,” he added. “I'm glad you got out before it snowed.”

They stopped before one of the windows and looked out over the runways, flakes of white swirling against the glass out of the dark skies.

“Guess I'll have to stay 'til it stops,” Eren said, and neither of them objected.

“Have you thought about how you'll end your giants story?” Erwin asked, as they stood watching the luggage carousel.

“Mm, I still don't know exactly,” Eren said. “But I want a happy ending.”

“You'll find one,” Levi said.

“I've got a few ideas- ah, there it is!” He spotted his suitcase and heaved it onto the floor. “Finally. Let's go home.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. And many thanks to the mods who organised eruriren week; it's been so nice to see so much activity in the ship, and I've really enjoyed reading the fics that have come from it.
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr](https://mongoose-bite.tumblr.com/), if you wish.


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